Type I interferons and dendritic cells in cancer immunotherapy

Int Rev Cell Mol Biol. 2019:348:217-262. doi: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2019.06.001. Epub 2019 Jun 20.

Abstract

Type I interferons (IFNs) facilitate cancer immunosurveillance, antitumor immunity and antitumor efficacy of conventional cell death-inducing therapies (chemotherapy/radiotherapy) as well as immunotherapy. Moreover, it is clear that dendritic cells (DCs) play a significant role in aiding type I IFN-driven immunity. Owing to these antitumor properties several immunotherapies involving, or inducing, type I IFNs have received considerable clinical attention, e.g., recombinant IFNα2 or agonists targeting pattern recognition receptor (PRR) pathways like Toll-like receptors (TLRs), cGAS-STING or RIG-I/MDA5/MAVS. A series of preclinical and clinical evidence concurs that the success of anticancer therapy hinges on responsiveness of both cancer cells and DCs to type I IFNs. In this article, we discuss this link between type I IFNs and DCs in the context of cancer biology, with particular attention to mechanisms behind type I IFN production, their impact on DC driven anticancer immunity, and the implications of this for cancer immunotherapy, including DC-based vaccines.

Keywords: Apoptosis; Danger signals; IFNAR; Immune checkpoint blockers; Immunogenic cell death; Interferon stimulated genes; JAK-STAT pathway; Oncolytic viruses; Tumor immunology; Tumor microenvironment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy*
  • Interferon Type I / immunology*
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Neoplasms / therapy*

Substances

  • Interferon Type I